DENTON, Texas – Trey Freeman poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the visiting Old Dominion men’s basketball team (18-12, 11-6 C-USA) as the Monarchs claimed a 76-70 victory over North Texas (11-19, 6-11 C-USA) on Thursday night at the Super Pit. ODU has claimed victory in eight of its last 11 contests. The Monarchs are now 6-2 on the road in Conference USA play this season.
The Mean Green pulled within six, 63-57, at the 3:17 mark and then again, 65-59, with 2:57 remaining in regulation. Brandan Stith’s dunk extended ODU’s lead back to eight. Deckie Johnson drilled a three to pull NT within five, 69-64 with 87 seconds to play.
North Texas pulled within three with 24.7 to play, 73-70, before Nik Biberaj connected on 2-2 and Aaron Bacote hit 1-2 free-throws to seal the deal in Denton.
Freeman dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds to compliment his 24 points. Denzell Taylor scored 12 points and hauled down four rebounds, while Brandan Stith recorded seven points (3-3 FG), eight rebounds and three blocks in just 15 minutes of work. Nik Biberaj finished with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The Monarchs shot 57.1% (16-28) from the floor and 50.0% (3-6) from three in the second half. Old Dominion’s defense held NT to 30.8% (8-26) shooting from the floor and 16.7% (1-6) from deep in the first half. ODU led for a total of 31:30 of the possible 40 minutes on Thursday.
Old Dominion held advantages in rebounds (43-34), as well as assists (18-10) for the ballgame.
The Monarchs opened the second half on a 9-0 run to claim a 39-24 advantage, forcing a NT timeout at the 16:11 mark. North Texas utilized a 9-2 run to cut into its deficit 47-39 with 11:35.
A North Texas and-one brought the score to 49-44 in favor of Old Dominion, before a Mean Green three-pointer brought them back within five, 52-47 with 8:38 to play.
Deckie Johnson led four Mean Green players in double-figures with 18 (seven rebounds). Also scoring double-digits for North Texas were J-Mychal Reese (13 points) Ja’Michael Brown (11 points) and Rickey Brice Jr. (11 points).
The Mean Green jumped out to a 16-13 advantage with 8:35 to play in the first half, before the Monarchs answered with six straight points to claim a 19-16 lead at the 6:19 mark.
With 2:42 to play in the first half, ODU led 24-20, before taking a 30-24 lead into the locker rooms at halftime behind a half-high 12 points from Denzell Taylor on 6-6 shooting from the floor. In a first half which experienced five ties and five lead changes, Brandan Stith played just two minutes do to foul trouble. ODU led for 11:25 of the opening 20 minutes, while the Mean Green led for 3:59.
LOOKING AHEAD FOR THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion will remain on the road for a Saturday showdown at Rice at 2:00 p.m. EST. Saturday’s contest will air live on ASN.
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